[A long life--a wish and its limits. Aging with dignity and meaning]

In the journal "Gerontologie" (1991, Oswald WD et al. Eds.), the article on "Langlebigkeit" (longevity) is followed by the article on "Lebenszufriedenheit" (satisfaction in life) for purely alphabetical reasons. However, there is a deeper meaning in this order which refers to a connection that should not be neglected. "The number of our days is 70 years. Or maybe 80 years if..." To have a long and satisfying life is a deeply rooted wish in the human mind. Medicine and modern, improved conditions of living let this come true for many. However, what undoubtedly is a value by itself and has been praised as success until recently, now causes personal and social problems. We are dealing with a covert problem in particular: Which decisions that concern us and are likely not to please us, are others going to take when we are old? "I need a coat already. For me the sun is already declining". The wish to live as long as possible is always connected with hope, that is hope to have a fulfilling life. However, there are limits to that hope due to the constancy of maximal life expectation, multiple morbidity related with old age and consequent shortening of life. At the same time basic existential experiences as uniqueness, loneliness and the limits of the human mind increase with age. So what does it mean to fill life in old age with meaning and dignity? Nowadays dignity is constantly talked about. That is possibly why it is on the retreat. Dignity is understood as something that can be ascribed and if that is so, we can simply abandon it since theology is not a known discipline any more. Theology and religion in general could bring about a new understanding of the meaning of life as it could relate something incomprehensible with a potential interpretation. Life in old age also comprises the personal and private wherein the memories of the personal life attain a particularly important function.